Hayate Hōzuki
*File:100px-Nature Icon Wind.svg.png }} Hayate Hōzuki (ハヤテ鬼灯, Hōzuki Hayate) is a Jonin Rank ninja from the Hidden Mist, and the newest member to join the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. He is also a member of the Hōzuki clan and the older brother Arashi Kagami, a missing-nin from the hidden mist. He excels at both Kenjutsu and Water Release ninjutsu, which made him a prime candidate for the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Due to the violent temper which he displays in the midst of a battle, he has been given the moniker Wrath of the Hidden Mist (霧隠れの怒り, Kirigakure no Ikari), by those who have witnessed his full fury and lived to tell about it. Apperance Hayate is a tall, lean built, dark skinned man, contrasting the usual appearance of most Mist Shinobi. He has medium-length silky black hair, which in this instance is sleeked back so as to expose the entirety of his forehead. His standard attire consists of a simple black shirt worn in an extremely casual manner, with the collar upturned and either sleeve drawn upwards to rest above just his elbows, accompanied by a pair of light-coloured pants. He also wears a sleeveless black shirt and matching pants, complete with a waist guard, Kirigakure's striped wrist and leg-warmers. He also wears the standard Kirigakure forehead protector. He keeps his sword, Engetsu stored within a seal that is marked on his clothes. This allows him to call upon the sword when needed and can be summoned in an instant just by touching the sealing "marks" placed on his clothes. Because of this most of his opponents tend to think he is unarmed but this is really not the case, as he can summon the sword instantly when attacked and cut down his enemies. Like other members of his clan, he carries a water bottle in a belt around his waist. Personality Hayate is usually portrayed as a calm, collected, and series individual. As a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, he is known for his loyalty and dedication towards the village. He is a man with ambition, aiming one day to not only master all seven swords of the previous generation, as his predecessor Mangetsu Hōzuki did, but to also surpass his current senpai’s in the group. Despite his usual portrayal, he has a strange sense of humour and has a habit of doing rather odd things, something most people would not expect from a man of his status. These include, joking with his comrades and subordinates, giving unusual gifts to people, dressing up as a Cloud Ninja while visiting Kumogakure to meet with Koga Senryu, ditching work to meet up with his younger sisters, and taking things out of the swordsmen vault without permission. From a young age he has aspired to become a member of the legendary Seven Swordsmen of the Mist group, and has relentlessly trained in order to realize this ambition. He has always admired the members of the group both previous and current generations, and was extremely happy when he was given the chance to join the seven swordsmen group. As the youngest and newest addition to the group, Hayate refers to all the current members with the honorific term "senpai", this shows he has a great deal of respect for his comrades despite being their equal in terms of status. He is on good terms with most of the members of the group, but has recently formed a close bond with Reiko Himegami and Kurenai Taiyou, both of whom are expecting great things from him in the near future. He seems to have a habit of going on ninja missions alone and upon joining the group took a number of difficult missions, in order to prove himself worthy of being a member, even when Reiko offered to join him in his mission, he kindly refused her offer and opted to go alone. He enjoys collecting rare and exotic swords, and will retrieve any sword he comes across during a mission; because of this he has accumulated a rather large collection of swords, all of which are kept in the swordsmen headquarters. There is however a darker side to his personality, which usually doesn’t resurface until the right situation, arises. In battle he shows a much more violent side to his usually calm and collected personality, if angered in any way he release the full fury of his wrath, annihilating any foe who dares to stand in his way, this is the reason why he gained the moniker Wrath of the Hidden Mist. Before joining the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, he would often unleash his fury upon his opponents; those who managed to survive would tell tales of their encounter with Hayate the Furious. He doesn’t take betrayal too likely either, and becomes quite enraged when faced with the possibility of being betrayed. Backround Hayate was born as a member of Kirigakure’s Hozuki clan, a famous clan known for their ability to turn their bodies into a liquid form using the Hydration Technique. Hayate is the oldest of four siblings, with Arashi being his younger brother, followed by two younger sisters, Mei and Hotaru. From a young age Hayate had always admired the members of Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and had hoped to one day join their group as a member. This acted as a motivation for him, as he had to endure a harsh training regimen in order to become a master swordsman, worthy enough to join the swordsmen group. Since member of his clan were proficient in the art of swordsmanship, he trained under many of his brethren, in order to increase his knowledge of specific styles and swords. From a young age he has been considered a prodigy in the art of swordsmanship, being able to pick up on a specific sword style and later on better adapt to it, this made him a prime candidate for the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. He has been reputed to be the reincarnation of Mangetsu Hozuki, the only swordsman and Hozuki clan member to have ever mastered all swords of the previous generation. After years’ worth of training his dream was finally realized, as he was accepted into the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, becoming their youngest member. Abilities As the youngest member to join the current reincarnation of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Hayate is arguably quite a powerful shinobi. For a man of his young age, Hayate is also quite strong, as he is able to knock out a man of much larger size with a single punch. His speed and agility are quite impressive, as he is able to keep up with the other members of the Seven Swordsmen in terms of speed, and can also dodge attacks without much difficulty. Aside from his speed and quick reflexes, Hayate has a great deal of stamina, being able to endure harsh physical punishments. His combat instincts are so acute, that things like taking on different stances or switching from offense to defence, seems completely natural to him. As a hidden mist shinobi, Hayate specializes in stealth assassination, and ninja tactics, with an extensive knowledge of various killing methods, he is renowned even amongst his fellow clan members. However if enraged in any way, he completely turns into a vicious and aggressive fighter, releasing the full extent of his fury upon those unfortunate enough to cross his path. While in his angered stated, he forgoes all stealth or battle tactics, instead prefers to take on a more direct approach, attacking with strong taijutsu and kenjutsu skills, without holding back. This is the reason why he gained the moniker of the Wrath of the Hidden Mist. Nature Transformation Like most shinobi from the Hidden Mist, Hayate is a Water Release user, and seems to be quite adept at it. He is a member of the Hozuki clan, and like most members, he has ability to transform his body into a liquid form, and also return to his solid bodily form at will. So far, he has demonstrated the ability to completely transmute his entire body and clothing into water and back again. He has enough mastery over his liquid form, that while in the transformed state; he can pull and hold on to an opponent for some time, before the latter falls into an unconscious state. His liquid form allows him to change his physical structure, giving him the ability to increase his arms and legs to a manageable size; this endows him with increased physical strength. As he is able to change in and out of liquid form to solid form at will, this makes it somewhat difficult to hit him, because any attack directed at him will go straight through his watery form. Despite being a member of the Hozuki clan and having access to the Hydration technique, he is not as well versed as his older brethren Ginkau, and seems to have limitation in the use of this technique. He is also required to carry water bottles and must consume water on a regular basis in order to sustain his watery form. Another weakness is that while in liquid form, he is weak against lightning release techniques, as begin hit by an electric current turns him solid and prevents him from transforming into water. Despite his limitations, he frequently uses the Hydration Technique, and uses its unique properties to aid him in battle. Kenjutsu From a young age Hayate has been considered a prodigy in the art of swordsmanship. He is an extremely gifted and talented swordsman, having been accepted into the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist at such a young age. According to fellow swordsman, Reiko Himegami, he has just only scratched the surface of his swordsmanship skills, meaning that there is still more room for him to develop until he reaches the full extent of his potential. Reiko even stated that in a few years’ time, he’ll become one of the powerful swordsmen of the current generation, and may be the only one out of the current seven swordsmen of the mist with the ability to master all seven swords of the previous generation, something only his predecessor Mangetsu was able to accomplish. Having been trained in the art of swordsmanship from a young age by several master swordsmen, Hayate has gained knowledge of several swordsmanship styles, all of which he later integrates into his own fighting style. He is easily capable of using one sword or two sword styles, but has difficulty with three or four sword styles; this is because he is still developing his overall swordsmanship skills. He is also physically strong enough to carry bladed weapons of much larger size, without showing any visible signs of exhaustion. As a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Hayate wields the special sword Seiryou Engetsu, a large katana with green dragon scales on the backside of the blade. The power of the katana is great enough that it can deliver a blow which can cut through the flesh and bone of an opponent with the precision and ease of surgical steel. Trivia *Hayate (疾風) means "gale", and Hōzuki (鬼灯; Literally meaning "demon lantern") is the Japanese word for the "chinese lantern" or "winter cherry", a fruit which resemble Chinese paper lanterns. *His appearance is based on Noah (Wrath) from the manga series Soul Eater. *Hayate's theme song is [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID0EQBozx8Q Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park] *According to the author. **Hayate wishes to fight Reiko and the other Seven Ninja Swordsmen members. **Hayate's favourite foods are yogurt or pudding (preferably anything sweet), while his least favourite is Bitter melon. **Hayate's favorite phrase is "Through hard work can one realize his ambition". **Hayate's hobbies are collecting swords, giving people unusual gifts, and annoying his senpai’s. **Hayate has completed 170 official missions in total: 25 D-rank, 50 C-rank, 55 B-rank, 30 A-rank, 10 S-rank. Category:Kirigakure Category:Hozuki Clan